Sam Oliver
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Advanced Semiconductor Engineering and Siliconware Precision Industries are three companies expected by DigiTimes to bid on orders with Apple. The companies could build custom ARM-based chips to power an Apple television, much like the A4 CPU, first released in the iPad in 2010, is found in the current Apple TV set-top box.
Apple is said to have already signed a foundry agreement with TSMC earlier this year, utilizing its 28nm and 20nm process technologies. That deal was said to be for next-generation "A6" and "A7" processors for the iPhone and iPad, but it's possible an Apple television could also utilize the advanced chips.
In addition to featuring custom chips, the Apple television is also expected to be assembled by Foxconn Electronics, industry sources reportedly said. Foxconn already builds most of Apple's devices, including the iPhone and iPad.
The report said Apple is expected to finalize the hardware standards for its television set at the end of the second quarter of 2012. After that, it will place orders for customized chips and other components directly with its contract manufacturers. That's the same approach Apple uses to build its iPad and iPhone lineups.
The Taiwan electronics industry publication once again pegged the Apple television for launch by the end of 2012. On Tuesday, DigiTimes also said that suppliers are expected to begin preparing components for the anticipated HDTV in the first quarter of 2012, and that it will have screen sizes of 32 and 37 inches.
Earlier reports also claimed that Apple will buy chips from Samsung for its television set, while Sharp is expected to manufacture displays. As for content, analyst Shaw Wu with Sterne Agee said earlier Wednesday that Apple is hoping to offer Internet-based content subscriptions that will allow customers to choose their own custom channel lineups, offering an experience very different from current cable and satellite plans.
Charles Martin
Christine McKee
Malcolm Owen
67 Comments
Apple has a chance to get this right and I hope they do. Goodle tried but they muscled ahead without liscense agreements and got smacked down. I own a Sony Google TV and it has potential but it just is not there. With that said though, the only reason I bought it was it was discounted. In my opinion, if Apple wants this to take off they really have to market it. There are tons of "connected" TVs out there but none of them are worth the extra money IMHO so if Apple wants my money, their TV has to be special, then I will buy it.
Apple has a chance to get this right and I hope they do. Goodle tried but they muscled ahead without liscense agreements and got smacked down. I own a Sony Google TV and it has potential but it just is not there. With that said though, the only reason I bought it was it was discounted. In my opinion, if Apple wants this to take off they really have to market it. There are tons of "connected" TVs out there but none of them are worth the extra money IMHO so if Apple wants my money, their TV has to be special, then I will buy it.
THis will be interesting for sure. I just worry they will make them large enough. Many like me with 50 -60 inch screens are not going down in size for the main living room, in fact I'd love to go up in size. I have not recovered since seeing the Sharp 80 inch in Sam's Club just before Christmas
There are tons of "connected" TVs out there but none of them are worth the extra money IMHO so if Apple wants my money, their TV has to be special, then I will buy it.
The problem is the "connected" TV's just aren't that connected. I still think the remote control is the first issue to solve-- specifically communication between devices. While HDMI has that capability at its core, it really is just designed for point-to-point connections, rather than multipoint to multipoint.
I'm ready to spend real money on a new "home theater" system-- mainly just a simple TV with a nice sound system, and the ability to watch movies and some TV shows. I'd love to have a Crestron or AMX system custom-configured to my needs, but that becomes too closed of an environment once you need to make changes. It also gets finicky unless all the devices have 2-way RS232 communications.
I also just want to have a single HDMI cable going to my TV from an equipment rack. If you really push me, I might go with an ethernet cable and a serial cable as well... but that is it. At the current rate, I'll end up with something like a Myth TV box, but that is a little more work than I am really interested in.
TSMC doesn't have 28nm and 22nm fab technologies without GlobalFoundries.
It sure would be nice for a more complete picture when writing stories. TSMC has the facilities to ramp up what Apple needs and to off-load more of it's contracts from Samsung if and when it needs to do so.
More Fabs are coming on-line that aren't TSMC and Samsung.
An Apple TV will never work. It's just a big iPad.